Grounded But Not Alone
by zeldafire
Summary: Jonathan visits Jessica every night to take her out flying. But what happens when she isn't there waiting for him? Takes place during Blue Noon, but there really are no spoilers.


Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Midnighters books or characters. They are the property of Scott Weterfield.

**Grounded But Not Alone**

Jonathan took another leap and soared higher. He could see clear across the town of Bixby, rooftops of houses dotting the horizon. This was why he had always loved the Blue Hour; complete escape from Flatland. But now he had another reason to love this time, and he was heading towards her.

Jessica seemed to fill a hole in Jonathan that he hadn't even known existed until she arrived in Bixby. He could not see himself with any other girl, and the fact that Jessica was a Midnighter made it all the better.

He loved seeing her every night. They had a luxury that no other couple could boast; to be completely alone anywhere in town. Of course, there was always Melissa, but she usually left them alone when they were together (she didn't want to know the details), And Melissa was usually the last thing on Jonathan's mind when he was with Jessica.

Jonathan knew Jessica liked their time just as much as he did, not only because it gave her a chance to feel the weightlessness that ha had for years, but because it was a chance for her to escape her parents. They did not allow her to date (Beth was the only one in her family who knew what Jonathan really was to her.) Jessica was also grounded a lot for things most people would find un-ground-worthy. This left little time for secret dates after school. The fact was that she was grounded now, though the reason was no simple matter.

A week ago, the police had brought Jessica home for breaking Bixby's curfew, along with a few other… misdemeanors. Her parents had been none to happy when the police had showed up at their door, "escorting" their daughter home. Jessica was now stuck in her house for a month.

Her parents had consented to letting her out once a week, with a bit of Melissa's help one midnight. But these weekly outings were always used for Midnighter stuff, meetings with Maddie when the Darklings couldn't sense her. So that left the Blue Hour as the only time in which Jonathan could meet with Jessica alone. In Jonathan's mind, there was nothing wrong with that.

He followed the familiar route to Jessica's house with ease. Soon he saw her window, and took one last, long leap. He landed softly on front of Jessica's bedroom window, but he didn't see her waiting there as she usually was. Jonathan poked his head through the window, pushing back the green curtains that still hung closed. He'd never seen this before.

Seeing nothing but an empty room, Jonathan climbed up and inside with weightless ease. Turning full circle, he was confirmed in the fact that Jessica wasn't in her room. Where the hell was she?

Jonathan walked out into the hallway and saw Beth's stiff body through her bedroom door. She was in her p.j.s and it looked as if she was heading back in from the hall. 'Probably trying to question Jessica again,' Jonathan thought. He liked Beth, but right now, he was glad she was frozen.

Jonathan moved on down the hall. He had never actually seen any other part of Jessica's house beside her bedroom. The hall carpet was beige, the walls covered in striped wallpaper and pictures in frames. They were of the family, some Jonathan didn't recognize (relatives), but most were of the immediate family. The first he encountered were baby pictures, but as he advanced down the hallway, they progressed in time, the sisters in the pictures growing older with each passing frame. Jonathan came to one that caught his eye, and he inadvertently stopped to look at it.

It looked as if it was taken just before the Days moved to Bixby. Jonathan admired the picture of his girlfriend; in it, she was her same beautiful self. She was with a number of friends, at what looked like a public pool, maybe at a YMCA. Jonathan had never seen Jessica in a bathing suit before, and she looked particularly good, in his opinion, in her red string bikini. He wondered hoe the hell Jessica had even been able to wear it, let alone buy it the way her parents acted. It had to be the work of one of the friends standing next to Jessica. Jonathan secretly thanked the unanimous friend for her "contribution" to the party.

Jonathan realized that he had stopped walking and was staring at the picture. He blushed and quickly backed away from the photo, not wanting Jessica to see him staring at a picture of her, in a string bikini no less.

Still red-faced, Jonathan moved down the hall, though he was still a little reluctant to leave the photo. But he wanted to find the real thing, even if she wasn't wearing man's most wonderful piece of clothing.

He came to a closed door a little farther down and on the left. Jonathan raised his hand to the door, but stopped his hand in midair. He saw no point in knocking; the only person that would hear would be Jessica.

He figured she was in the kitchen, getting something for the two of them to eat. She had packed small picnics for them before, and was probably making something right now. Jonathan was happy at the thought of sharing strawberries on the top of the Sunoco sign again. They tasted much sweeter when Jessica was around.

But Jonathan was still curious, so he moved his hand down to the doorknob and turned it. The door opened effortlessly.

It led to the bathroom, but Jonathan didn't find it empty. Jessica was standing barefoot on a fluffy blue rug in front of the shower, looking at herself in the mirror. She was wrapped in a towel, and Jonathan gulped when he saw a pile of her clothes on the floor in the corner of the room. The sight of her matching pink lacy panties and bra on the top of the pile made his pants feel a little tighter.

So how was it? It'll only be two chapters long, hopefully. I don't care what you write, just review please! This is my first fic., so I need help!


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